Windows Media Center PCs have had the capability to support high-definition television (HDTV) since Windows Media Center 2005 shipped last year. However, anyone wanting HD content on the PC has been limited to over-the-air, terrestrial broadcasts. Premium content, such as HBO-HD, ESPN and others are only available on cable TV networks or satellite networks, so home theater PC users have either had to forego the ability to have premium content time-shifted on the PC, or have had to live with downscaled content piped to the PC from set-top boxes via S-video.

Microsoft and ATI plan to bring CableCard to the PC by the 2006 holiday season. CableCard, an open standard developed by Cable Laboratories, is essentially a PC Card that plugs into set-top boxes, TVs, or other devices with CableCard supports. The cable TV providers such as Cox, Comcast, and Time-Warner have downplayed CableCard for most users, since it doesn't support the two-way interactivity needed for applications such as video on demand and pay-per-view.

But even one-way CableCard on PCs gets interesting, since Media Center PCs are typically connected via broadband. Cable TV providers could, if they chose to, support interactivity over IP networks  even their own cable internet services.
The product, which doesn't yet have a name, will be USB only. Even internally mounted cards may plug into a slot, but the connector is a dummy connector. USB 2.0 has plenty of bandwidth to handle multiple HDTV streams.

The catch to all this is that you won't be able to get it for your current Windows Media Center system. Initial shipments will only be new PCs running Windows Vista late this year. Later, retail products may be available, but even those will be limited to systems running the new Microsoft O/S. The reason for this is the requirement by the content providers and cable TV companies for the robust content protection built into Vista. Still, CableCard on the PC provides much-needed access to premium HD content that's currently unavailable.

The product will support both analog and digital TV, eliminating the need for a separate analog tuner board in Media Center PCs.

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